England striker Michael Owen will jet out to America on Monday for an operation on his injured knee.
The 26-year-old will head for Dr Richard Steadman's Colorado clinic, where he will undergo surgery to repair a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament under the watchful eye of Newcastle's club doctor Roddy McDonald.
He will spend up to a fortnight in the United States before returning home to start his rehabilitation.
Owen said: 'It's just coming up to a couple of weeks now since I did it, and at the minute it is just dead time really while I'm waiting to have the operation.
'As soon as we get the operation out of the way, we will be looking forward to a fixed date or a fixed time to come back.
'The last few days has just been trying to get the swelling down and trying to get the knee as healthy as possible so we can get it operated on.
'I'll go out there on Monday, be examined on Tuesday, then we'll do the operation as quickly as possible and then get straight into the rehab.
'It is going to be a hard slog. I'll have the operation, and they tend to like you to stay out there for perhaps a week or 10 days after that to start the rehab, and they try to get the knee moving quite soon afterwards.
'I'd like to think I'll be back as soon as possible, obviously.
'The operation needs to go according to plan first, so we'll get that out of the way. Hopefully that will go fine and we can look forward to a smooth rehab.
'If it all goes well after that, I'd like to think I'll be playing as soon as possible in the new year.'
Owen is facing months on the sidelines working his way back to fitness after damaging his right knee less than a minute into England's 2-2 World Cup draw with Sweden in Cologne on June 20.
He flew back from Germany after a scan revealed the rupture, and there were also fears his medial ligament had been affected.
Newcastle's medics, in consultation with chairman Freddy Shepherd, quickly turned to Dr Steadman, the man who had previously saved the careers of both Alan Shearer and Craig Bellamy.
With the Football Association's insurance policy covering only a proportion of Owen's £103,000-a-week wage packet, Shepherd is vigorously pursuing compensation.
However, in the meantime, all £17million record signing Owen can do is concentrate on his recovery after missing the last five months of last season with a fractured metatarsal.
He said: 'Coming back from the last injury, there was a slight setback in the rehabilitation, but in terms of the physios here at Newcastle and the new doctor we have now, I'm in the best hands.
'The doctor comes with a great reputation. I've seen him a few times already and I know I'm in safe hands.
'We had a look at the pros and cons for different surgeons. There are a lot of good ones here in England, and we weighed up that travelling to America and staying out there and flying back would be worthwhile.
'Dr Steadman has so much experience - Alan Shearer speaks very highly of him. I've spoken to everyone, and we came to the conclusion that Richard Steadman was the best man for the job.'
Owen was back at the club's training headquarters this morning and met up his team-mates, who have already started preparations for their Intertoto Cup campaign.
He told the club's official website: 'It's good to be back with the lads.
'I've come out of the England dressing room and back into the Newcastle dressing room, and as I expected, there is plenty of stick and banter.'
